Mark Shields Quotes

John Kerry will be the Democratic nominee for president. Democrats finally found someone who is Al Gore without the flash and the sizzle.

Mr. Mayor. I've decided the best place for the '68 [Democratic] convention is Chicago! You are the one who can handle it!

During the protracted tooth-and-nail tussle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primaries, I was one of those fierce partisans desperate for the first black candidate with a serious shot at the White House to win the nomination.

I think that the person who is going to be nominated will be nominated by the convention.

We support Hillary [Clinton]. We're saying that strongly. "I'm with her," I don't think that we can be any less strident. She's the best person for the job.

I really think that everything that's known about Hillary has been dissected, rehashed. For some people that is an argument that she would be the better candidate against McCain.

I think, you know, we always tell candidates, show, don't tell, what you're all about. I think Hillary Clinton's speech was an important speech that people are going to look at and they're going to see not just the attacks on Donald Trump, but also her admission that maybe she'd been part of the polarization problem as well and she could do better.

You look forward. You don't go punitive. It's very small-minded to do that. There's campaign rhetoric, and then there's stuff that you actually do," and you're thinking, Snerdley, "He was never gonna prosecute her, just like they didn't prosecute [Richard] Nixon. If anybody was ever gonna prosecute anybody, it would be the Democrats prosecuting Nixon."

I think Hillary Clinton is an outstandingly capable and decent person.

It really kind of looks like now that John Kerry is on his way to the presidential nomination. The only thing that can sink John Kerry now is an Al Gore endorsement.

At the same time, you had Barack Obama as a president. You had Hillary Clinton on track, all the Democrats looking good. And, you know, Donald Trump was just an entertaining buffoon to watch. And, over time, you came to realize that Donald Trump was appealing to a lot of people with his populist message. And, slowly, I think, even as a show, we started shifting in tone as the election started shifting.

Hillary Clinton is, I think, a cult figure.

Hillary Clinton wants to run on the historic nature of her candidacy. I will force her to run on accountability for the Clinton way.

Donald Trump has - he's endorsed Kelly Ayotte. He endorsed Paul Ryan. He endorsed John McCain. He's been incredibly gracious. I think he's done his part to unify the party by becoming president for nominee fairly and squarely.

People are taking a closer look at Donald Trump. I think the best look they got was at the last debate. I think Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio prosecuted their case effectively. Donald doesn't have some great answers. When they talk, for instance, about immigration and releasing those tapes from The New York Times, we began talking about flexibility and immigration.

Political analysts are saying that as a candidate, Donald Trump is 'a totally unqualified nuisance.' In other words, he is a legitimate contender for the Republican nomination.

I think the guy who gets the least chatter, given how high his chances are of winning the nomination, is Ted Cruz.

You just have to sort of figure out how to - getting back to that word, "balance" - how to balance the public and the private efforts that are necessary to be successful, politically, and that's not just a comment about today. That, I think, has probably been true for all of our history.

I've been a Hillary Clinton supporter for a long time and I know that is not actually a popular position.

Watch the speech. Really, watch: if this man gets his party's nomination, he's going to be the next president. By a landslide. And he is going to transform this country. If I were a Republican, I'd be very, very afraid. Oh wait, I am a Republican.

Tonight the Republican presidential candidates had a big debate, 10 candidates. The last time that many rich white guys got together, I think Exxon merged with Mobil.

[On Hillary Rodham Clinton:] She always looks so adorable, and she's intrepid; she's the biggest bargain America ever got, bigger than that Louisiana Purchase from my French friends.

We've seen Senator Corker who had indicated to me,that he didn't think he was still in the running but might now be a fallback position if this Mitt Romney versus Rudy Giuliani dispute is that serious.

Hillary Clinton's bad instincts and her bad judgment, something pointed out by Bernie Sanders, are what caused so many of the disasters unfolding today.

The American people, when had the chance, three times now have said "no" to Hillary Clinton. The Democrats did it in 2008. The Jill Stein recount this year and the American people in 2016. Three times in eight years the American people have looked at Hillary Clinton and said "no."